Scientists are closer to understanding how a recently approved class of antibiotics may work against cancer.

The drugs, called thiazole antibiotics, appear to block a cellular protein called FoxM1, one of the most over-produced proteins in cancer cells, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. FoxM1 is believed to play an important role in causing cells to become cancerous and may present a promising target for future anti-cancer treatments.

The researchers also found that thiazoles may inhibit proteasomes, a molecular complex within cells that disposes of old proteins marked for destruction. Recently, a number of proteasome inhibitors have shown promise against cancer. One of these inhibitors, bortezomib (Velcade), has proven effective against a number of cancers, including myeloma and certain forms of lymphoma.

The new research, which appears in the online journal PLoS ONE, points to the possible anti-cancer use of thiazoles in the future. In a university news release, study author Andrei Gartel, an associate professor of molecular genetics, said that by using thiazole antibiotics in combination with well-known proteasome inhibitors, “we may see a synergy that allows us to markedly reduce the dose of any one of these drugs and still effectively kill the cancer cells.”

Surgery that spares the limbs of some cancer patients may have little or no additional benefit over amputation in terms of health, cost or quality of life, researchers say.

Limb-sparing surgery can be just as effective as amputation in removing bone or soft-tissue sarcomas, but the analysis by Canadian researchers found few notable differences in psychological health and quality of life between people who had the two types of surgery. In fact, people who had their limbs saved tended to have more complications either shortly after the procedure or sometime later, the study found.

People who had limb-sparing surgery for cancers in the upper areas of the legs, including the hip, did reportedly have advantages over those who’d had amputation, but in general, saving the lower limbs did not necessarily ensure a better quality of life than amputation of all or part of the leg, the researchers found.

In terms of money, limb-sparing surgery has higher “up front” costs and rehabilitation costs, but making, maintaining and replacing artificial limbs for amputees adds to those patients’ long-term costs, the study noted.

The analysis, appearing online Aug. 10 in advance of publication in the Sept. 15 issue of Cancer, reviewed previously published studies on the cost and quality of life for people undergoing limb-sparing surgery versus amputation. Its authors, Dr. Ronald Barr of McMaster University in Ontario and Dr. Jay Wunder of Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto, called for further and more comprehensive reviews into the matter to help doctors and patients make better decisions when facing the issue.

“Future studies that include function, health-related quality of life, economics and stratification of patients by age will be useful contributions to decision-making … by patients, health-care providers and administrators,” Wunder said in a news release from the American Cancer Society.

Swimmer’s ear occurs when the outer ear and ear canal become inflamed, infected or irritated. Common causes include swimming in water that’s polluted, scratching the ear or an object that becomes lodged in the ear, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Symptoms of swimmer’s ear include pain, itch and drainage that may seep from the ear. Drainage may have a foul odor, and be green or yellow. The pain from swimmer’s ear typically gets worse when you touch or pull on the outer ear.

A doctor should diagnose swimmer’s ear and prescribe medication to treat it. Often, antibiotic ear drops or corticosteroids are recommended to alleviate infection and inflammation, the NLM says. It’s important to first clean the ear before administering medication.